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CNBC’s Senior News Executive is Leaving

The senior news executive at CNBC said Tuesday that he would leave the job next month, in the midst of what is arguably the biggest story in the business channel’s history.

Jonathan Wald, the senior vice president for business news, said he could not reach agreement on a new contract and would leave at the end of March.

Since being appointed to the job three years ago, Mr. Wald, who runs CNBC’s day-to-day news operations from an office overlooking the newsroom in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., has helped to revitalize the network’s news-gathering efforts.

Mr. Wald runs the morning news meeting that sets the agenda for CNBC, which attracted record ratings last fall as the nation’s attention turned to the economy. CNBC, the dominant business channel and a mainstay of chief executive offices, also acts as the financial news bureau for NBC News and MSNBC, all of which are units of NBC Universal.

“I’m confident CNBC will keep growing,” Mr. Wald said in a telephone interview Tuesday. Asked about his future, he said, “Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to keep growing as well.”

Mr. Wald was believed to be a leading contender to succeed Mark Hoffman, the network’s president. His tenure at CNBC, first as a consultant and eventually as an executive, was a second act within NBC, years after he left the “Today” show’s top production job because of disputes with the morning show’s co-hosts.

CNBC did not name a replacement for Mr. Wald on Tuesday. He is not the only business news executive to depart amid extensive TV coverage of the recession. John Meehan, the managing editor of Bloomberg Television, left the channel last month.

Does anyone really care about this? I mean CNBC provides no real value except a bunch of talking heads that have absolutely no idea what direction the market is heading and encourage rebalancing your portfolio on a weekly basis…

Charlie Gasparino and Rick Santelli are fine reporters. Two of the best on any station or network. The rest of the reporters and talking heads appear just to read what’s told to them. I like CNBC, but they have been part of the problem in this market. Who is the anchor who used to say the stock market was the greatest story never told every day until the days before it dived? Amazing. What about Cramer and the other “Fast Money’ traders telling you what to buy every day. I know they need to fill air time, but they can do a lot better.

Rick Santelli is an exceptional reporter. He ably and succinctly explains the bond market every day. I really wish CNBC would enhance his role. And even though I almost always disagree with Kudlow, I appreciate the data (charts/graphs) he presents.

Who are they addressing their comments to? My relatives and co-workers have no clue and I barely understand “some” of what is said.
Ever watch chickens in a coop? They will remain quiet for a while then one will cluck, another will respond and so on.

The announcers spoke of how gas would go to $5 per gallon, only to have it fall under $2..what do they know?

It would help us if they would do some investigative work and expose the ponzi fraudsters and the so-called analyst or highlight the drug companies selling drugs made in the US for less in Canada and Mexico.